COMPANY BIO
Established in 1986, News 12 Long Island is a local 24-hour cable television station. As its slogan goes, it is “as Local as Local News Gets” (News 12, 2017). News 12 Long Island is just one entity from a network of News 12’s which also covers the Bronx, Brooklyn, Connecticut, Hudson Valley, New Jersey, and Westchester. According to News 12’s website, the Long Island sector is “the largest and most watched regional news network in the country” (News 12. 2017). Over the past 10 years, News 12 has won 131 Emmy awards, many of which are proudly displayed in the News 12 headquarters lobby in Woodbury, New York. The building also houses the News 12 Long Island station.
The News 12 network was originally owned by Patrick Dolan’s Cablevision, until the cable provider, Altice USA, bought it out in 2016. Patrick Dolan still resides as president of the News 12 networks. Along with News 12, Altice USA owns Optimum, Suddenlink, Lightpath, and AMS. According to the June 2017 quarterly report, Altice’s cable television franchises made $ 8,113,575 (Media Kit. 2017). Out of all the cable news stations Altice owns, News 12 attracts the most viewers when referring to the early morning and late prime. In fact, Nielsen ranked New 12 in the early morning the highest ratings compared to local broadcast news from adults 25-54, Monday thru Friday (Media Kit. 2017). In other words, News 12 is an audience and advertising gold mine.
COMPETITION
News 12 relies on audiences joining or staying with cable providers. It must ultimately promote cable in order for it to stay on the air. The station is as it says in its promos, “Only on Cable. Never on FiOS. Never on satellite” (News 12. 2017). Verizon’s FiOS1 is News 12’s main competitor. FiOS1’s Long Island sector was established in 2007, while its other sectors are located in New Jersey and the Lower Hudson Valley. News 12 Long Island’s reporters, anchors, and meteorologists have become a part of the brand that allows it to compete. While there are a few rotations of talent throughout the day, viewers can expect to see the same faces in the same timeslots weekly. They have become celebrities, fans have tried tracking them at the station, but security and card access inside the building has made that preventable.
MARKETING
The News 12 network has its own marketing department, separate and distinct from Altice USA. It exclusively supports all 7 local news channels, 5 traffic and weather channels, and the interactive division in the regions they serve. For example, News 12 Long Island only gets promoted to Long Islanders, not the Bronx. The content, as well as marketing, of each channel is targeted specifically to that region. The marketing campaigns vary depending on the market conditions, the timing of the promoted, and each channel’s marketing budget. According to News 12 Promotions Coordinator Jennifer Espada, the marketing department has two divisions: outreach and production. The outreach team is responsible for event sponsorships, talent appearances, tours, press releases, coordinates network awards, and much more. The production team is in charge of the creative execution of promotional messages including on-air promos, print ads, and digital advertising.
BUSINESS MODEL
News 12 Long Island is successful at reaching a 25-54 target audience. While keeping its thriving format, it has tried to modernize and appeal to a more technologically inclined demographic. Its interactive division consists of their website, app, and social media. In regard to social media, News 12 Long Island has a presence on Facebook and Twitter. The accounts feature stories with links to it website and has a daily photo competition. Users submit their photos of Long Island and the best one gets posted. While some admission to the News 12 website itself is available, a subscription gives a user much more access. Subscriptions are “free” for cable subscribers. This strategy is yet again another way to market the perks of getting cable. News 12 also promotes itself locally, in non-digital means. It is active in the community. During fairs, festivals, and vendor events, News 12 Long Island usually has a tent. In it, there is an interactive green screen for people to experiment with. They also give out promotional items with their logo on hats, pens, frisbees, etc. This creates more of an everyday appeal, as if inviting News 12 Long Island into the family unit.
REVENUE
According to Jennifer Espada, News 12 revenue comes from affiliate fees from the cable companies that carry it, subscriptions, and advertising revenue in the form of commercial advertising, sponsorships, and digital advertising. Each region and division has different top advertisers. Its ad revenue model has different divisions including local, regional, and national. For traditional on-air news, sponsors may advertise with a 10-second billboard, general sponsorship, or time and temperature sponsorship. According to Altice Media Solutions, the New 12 Long Island website gets an average monthly metric of 8,378,000-page views (Media Kit. 2017). Advertisers have the option of customizable ad positions and banner sizes, pre-roll opportunities, high-impact skins, or high-impact roadblocks. The News 12 mobile app gets an average monthly metric of 15,493,000-page views (Media Kit. 2017). Advertisers can choose from a 15-second pre-roll, clickable banners, and full-page ads.
LOOKING AHEAD
News 12 Long Island is able to obtain viewers, sponsors, and advertisers. The local appeal has made a more personalized and catering feel to audiences. It is playing in almost every doctor’s office, deli, and restaurants with a television. Their plan is “to continue to provide a proprietary product that viewers want and need as part of their information resources. We are ““as local as local news gets”” and provide relevant news and information that viewers can’t get anywhere else.” (Espada. 2017)
References
12, N. (n.d.). News 12. Retrieved September 12, 2017, from https://www.news12.com/
Account, N. (2017, September 12). News12LI (@News12LI). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from https://twitter.com/News12LI
Choose region. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://www.fios1news.com/longisland
Company Altice USA. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from https://www.cleverism.com/company/altice-usa/
Current Financials. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://alticeusa.com/investor-information/current-financials/
Espada, J. (2017, September 11). Email.
Media Kit News 12 Networks. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://www.alticemediasolutions.com/sites/default/files/News12%20Ring%20Deck%20Q22016.pdf
News 12 Long Island. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from https://www.facebook.com/pg/News12LI/about/?ref=page_internal
News 12 Long Island. (2017, January 05). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://longisland.news12.com/
We are Altice. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://alticeusa.com/